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The Old Blood
No noble rules over the Deathless, and therefore no noble rules over Koschei. However there are certain families, traditionally tied to the Deathless, who are more commonly found in higher positions on Koschei and in the Deathless, not that I would ever accuse The Deathless of practicing nepotism, that is an entirely noble tradition of course. - Leo “Chronicler” Norimov, A Profile Of Koscheian Society, (Bunker-2, École-de-Guerre University Press, 3196), 230. The Old Blood is the name given to a certain group of Koscheian families that are traditionally linked to The Deathless over the past 250 years, none of them part of the nobility. However, their ancestry traces back to the original survivors of the Burning of Thorg and founders of the Deathless, some of them coming from Aquilan families. Oddly enough one might find higher ranking Deathless or Koscheian industrialists to be part of such families. But any claims of nepotism is strongly denied, as the Deathless prioritize competence over favoritism, and is it really that odd that families who spent centuries serving in the mercenary outfit are better suited to the mercenary life? The Old Blood itself is fairly diluted, if you will, as the families are few and far between in the hundred plus millions of Deathless mercenaries. Nonetheless if someone were to look deeply into some Deathless general’s or VP’s family history they might find a tradition of higher position. Due to the Deathless’ usage of names with their Eternal Records the family ancestry may be murked by some who take the name of a prominent member of the OId Blood that was long dead. Sometimes taking such a name might even be considered as adoption into the family, and may even result in such a family sponsoring the recruit, supporting them throughout their career. Of course such a sponsorship could be removed should the adopted member prove to fall short of the family’s expectations, which can be quite high. Known Families Here are outlined some of the families that are recognized to be part of the Old Blood as well as their family history. The Antonovich The Antonovich family claims direct descent from the Obruchev line, in truth they were an early conquest of the dynasty. Originally petty warlords feuding in the Diomikatan tundra, the Antonovich Clan was made to kneel before the might of the Orbuchev warlords. The families oral historians claim that Anais Orbuchev herself defeated the Antonovich clan leader in single combat to determine leadership, before taking him as a consort, thus creating their claim to direct descent from her line. This is patently false. After being nearly wiped out during a brutal guerrilla campaign in the snows, the leaders of the family swore fealty, and were accepted as a vassal to the Orbuchev dynasty. In the wake of the Burning of Thorg the Antonovich family faced an internal struggle that ended up splitting them into two. Half left to return to House Aquila, joining the White Legions to fight against the Blood Eagle. The other half stayed loyal to Koschei, and instead joined the Deathless under the leadership of Major Demetri Antonovich I, known alternatively as “Demetri the Terrible” or “First Demon”. Demetri the First is credited with helping to create the original Deathless Marine doctrine. Most notably was his role in inventing the near suicidal marine drop doctrine that has become such an integral part of the modern Deathless marine protocol. The story says that Major Antonovich I had to prove the worth of the drops himself in a bet against one of Koschei’s top advisors. The modern Antonovich family is known for their part in creating and propagating the Cult of Koschei. The family is devout, and many of the sons and daughters choose to become leaders in the religion. Another quirk of the family is the predominance of Thorgian blood in the family. The Antonovich family has long had close ties with the planet, and it is not uncommon for the family to adopt or marry in promising Thorgian recruits. The Azarov The Azarov family were an early Aquilan vassal of the Obruchev dynasty, and have claimed fealty to them since the Silence, although nothing can be confirmed. Their known first Deathless founding member, Major Catherine “Bloodhound” Azarov, was a infantry company commander during the Thorg counter-insurgency campaign, and the sole survivor of the family members deployed on Thorg. She would illustrate herself during the war of the Blood Eagle and reach some of the highest ranks in the Deathless infantry. The Azarov family are traditionally concerned with serving the Deathless to the best of their abbilities, whether it is as an infantry grunt, a ship captain, or as a suit. This obsession with service has led some of its members to research better alternatives to create the perfect member, even dabbing in the order of synthetics, custom built to their specification. Of course no current family members openly claim this, even before synthetics were declared illegal. The Marshes A minor noble family on the borders of two much larger noble families back on Diomokato. The family and its Blood Eagle Era Patriarch, Enregard March were elevated under the Alejandran Reforms and consequently became fanatically loyal to the Emperox. Due to Emperox Alejandran Ari Reforms the erasure of the traditional barriers to high rank which had prevented a March to rise to high rank had finally been eroded. To the Marchs the sector-order was perfect where before they had been snubbed for their minor status and confronted with incompetent superiors now they encountered respect and unrelenting professionalism. It came as quite a shocked to the march family and its patriarch Lieutenant-Colonel Enregard “Sardonic” March then when during the campaign against the insurgency on Thorg Admiral Aquila Napolitano ordered “The Burning.” To the Marchs the whole structure of that Emperox Alejandran had created was perfect her orders and military competency being translated down from her to every prominent rank… yet somehow something so flawless was capable of such a senseless cruelty. Lieutenant-Colonel Enregard could hardly comprehend how it was possible for a commander in such a perfect structure to disregard the sacrifices of his Infantry Battalion, sacrifices some of his only family members had made during the campaign against the Thorg Insurgency. It was only after Enregard March was finished cradling the charred remains of his 2nd daughter Ari March that he was able to come to a conclusion. The system was flawed incompetent and cruel people can still gain rank and still hurt those they view beneath them. He wished he had been able to be more critical of Emperox Alejandran’s rule and that he had not taken it as perfect just because it had originally been kind to him his family. Enregard and the marshes renounced their old name, adopted the name “Marsh” and resolved to follow “Koschei” wherever he might lead them, but never without criticism they would never repeat that mistake. Since The Burning the Marshes, have devoted themselves to reform and criticism of whatever branch of the DCS they find themselves in, be it Operations or Business to them nothing is above reproach or unable to be improved upon. Obruchev The Obruchev trace their origin to the Aquilan dynasty that reunited Diomikato during the silence and rose to prominence during the rediscovery of the sector. Their most known member is the credited founder of the Deathless, Guillaume “Koschei” Obruchev. Even though this family officially no longer exists, as all its members have changed their names or have disappeared into marriage arrangements with other noble families, their influence can be felt to this day. A majority of early Deathless generals and admirals were thought of being of Obruchev descent, although none have operated under that name. Van Peij The Van Peij family started from the descendants of General Anastasia “Marya Morevna” Van Peij, the Thorgian general turned mercenary and second in command of the Deathless in the early days of the company. It is unknown when general Van Peij married, or to whom (many theorized that it was to Koschei himself), but her lineage has been a staple of Koscheian industrialists and members of the Deathless board ever since. Some of them pride themselves over their ancestry, while others, more muted characters, are better described as “silent professionals”, carrying the supposed character of general Van Peij, serving as a foil to Koschei’s brash and audacious attitude. Old Blooded “Oh Kluzinski? She’s Old Blooded, only got that promotion because her family’s full of generals.” Calling someone Old Blooded in the Deathless can be quite the faux pas, depending on the individual. See, The Deathless pride themselves over their attainment of their position. In the ideal mercenary company only the skilled and most deserving attain higher status, after all this isn’t the nobility we’re talking about! As such, calling someone Old Blooded insinuates that, maybe, just maybe, the soldier didn’t really earn their rank, and are only in their position due to their familial support. Sometimes it’s true, after all networking is an important part of anyone’s career, but some truths are better left unsaid, especially when the person you’re telling it to is armed, at least trained with that weapon, and potentially quite drunk. Category:The Deathless Category:Koschei